My 2 Year Old Is Gagging Himself

Ok this may be a zebra in the midst of horses...but my breastfeeding listserv has been talking about bfding moms who have eating disorders...and their children's mimicry..so is your son around any younger girls..teenage girls that he MIGHT have seen this behavior and is now mimicing? OR does he maybe have a sore throat and this is his way of "telling" you his throat hurts/itchs whatever. Maybe you need to completely ignore the episodes for a few days and see if no attention makes the behavior go away. I'm kinda stumped. Let us know girl!

Oh my K....you do have a problem! Never had this happen to me nor have I had any friends that have mentioned going through this. You would think that the actual act of throwing up would make your son stop. If I were to wager a guess, I would say that he is doing this for attention. Try ignoring him when he does this...and I mean really ignoring him like he isn't even there. You might even make him eat alone..while keeping a watchful eye of course. I would say that once he sees that no one is impressed by his actions, the actions will stop. You might also use a trip to say McDonalds as extra leverage. Tell him if he goes all week without doing this nasty deed, that he gets a trip to McDonalds. I hope you have quick success. If it continues, I would consult your doctor. There could be an underlying problem. And we all know that making yourself throw up can do damage to your esophogus etc. Good luck!!

Hey K.!
I can tell you that my 17 mo old did that for a short time, and just stopped by himself. To be honest, I did not make any fuss about it, I just took his hands softly (he used to do it with both!),and I said "no" in a firm and nice way. He just stopped doing that.
I think that is part of exploring and "see what happens if I do this or that"..It is like that "raspberries sound" the make with their mouths and you get kind of wet!
Be patient...
Alejandra

My daughter did that when she was between 1.5 and 2 y.o. I don't know why, but I remember feeling just as you described. The only reason I could come up with is that she was looking to get a reaction out of me. I came to this conclusion because if I was facing away from her or if I went to the bathroom of if I was in the kitchen cooking, she wouldn't do it. So I stopped making a big fuss when she did it (I would just take her plate away for a minute or two) and she stopped after a few days. Good luck!

Hi K.,
I had a problem kinda like this with my daughter. I worked for a home with physicaly, menataly, and developemently handycaped children and adults. I asked one of the behavioral specialist what to do he asked me what I did when my daughter did it. I told him that I told her no and he laughed. He said that kids that age will do things like this for attention. I should ignore the action but not the child.Meaning to go ahead and in your case clean the mess but don't give the child any remorseful feelings about it or don't say anything to him at all. I know you said you tried ignoring it and it didn't work. Maybe if you actually don't ignore the child and clean the mess up and don't say anything like that was a bad thing or you shouldn't do that. He won't be getting attention from you on the subject weather good or bad. If it continues I would ask your pediatrition what your next step of action should be. Hope this helped have a great day! G.